The Auto Dealership of the Future
— envisioning the dealership experience while catering to numerous geographic markets
— length & type
10 weeks
Industrial Design
Interior Design
Service Design
— role
Industrial Designer
— team
14 designers across Architecture, Fashion Marketing, Industrial, Service, Interior, and Motion Design.
— context + problem to solve
BMW, looking to build off of their heritage and develop future opportunities, tasked our multidisciplinary deisgn team: what is the dealership of the future?
The team ran extensive secondary research exploring experiental installations, luxury retailers, competitor market and digital architecture. Our primary social probe centered around understanding the current experiences, motivations and barriers that people face at auto dealerships.
Both BMW owners and non-BMW owners were asked to draw and describe their auto dealership experiences, which depicted these spaces as an undercover scam by salespersons with deceptive and dishonest practices.
How might we engineer the BMW dealership experience to resemble their vehicles?
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— challenges
After evaluating the pain points and client needs during the dealership experience, the team crafted targeted questions that considered the varying challenges throughout BMW's North American markets in cities like Savannah, Atlanta and New York City:
How might we improve customer comfort to enhance brand perception?
How might we curate the BMW culture to create an authentic sensory journey?
How might we educate the users to ensure transparency?
— concept
Though the U.S. marketi is diverse, many seek authentic experiences that take the local culture into consideration. Through our research, we found that clients respond positively to brands thhat provide interactive, customizable, and memorable experiences. While the franchised dealership model is dysfunctional, the individual franchise owner's knowledge of the local market is valuable and an intergral part to a memorable experience.
The Modular System offers a flexible toolkit for dealers to tailor experiences to their local markets. Each module offers a unique and insightful glimpse into the BMW ownership experience, and re-imagines the current car with the aim of delighting and educating consumers simultaneously.
New York City, NY Module Arrangement
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Atlanta, GA Module Arrangement
— modularity
According to a location's demographic, BMW modules would be placed according to the target location's needs. Modules range from a Pit Stop, designed to schedule test drives in a city like Atlanta with major sprawl, to a Design Atelier, where clients can customize their dream BMW with a specialist on site in cities with high foot traffic like New York City.
Modules: BMW Leather Accessory Collection, Cafe, Car Wash, Circuit, Design Atelier, Equilibrium, Expressive Facade, Glasshouse, Interactive Tunnel, Pit Stop, Pop-ups, Service, amongst others.
Design Atelier, Pit Stops, Custom Accessories, & More
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— Given the nature of this project, further insights and design process can only be revelead in an interview setting.
